Realtor accountant in Toronto
Ontario has allowed realtors to earn through a personal real estate corporation since 2020. For a Toronto agent that turned one tax return into two and opened a real choice about how commission reaches you.
EverStone is an accountant for realtors and a Toronto small business accountant, serving the GTA remotely at fixed fees.
Quick answer: A Toronto realtor either reports commission personally on the T1 or earns it through an Ontario personal real estate corporation that files a T2. Commission is subject to 13% HST once you are registered, and registration is mandatory past $30,000 of taxable sales in four consecutive quarters. Car and home-office claims rest on records kept through the year. EverStone handles the returns, HST and instalment planning remotely.
The hub for realtors, PRECs and brokers explains commission income in general. If you also hold rental property, see accounting for real estate investors.
What changed for Ontario realtors in 2020
Before 2020, an Ontario salesperson or broker had to take commission personally. Every dollar was taxed at personal rates in the year it was earned, whether you spent it or not. Since then, a registrant can have the brokerage pay commission to a personal real estate corporation instead. The corporation pays tax at corporate rates, and you decide how and when money moves to you.
The rules are narrow. The corporation exists to carry on your real estate trading, the ownership and control conditions are set by the province, and the brokerage relationship stays in place. In practice a PREC is a vehicle for one agent’s commission, not a general holding company. Get the structure confirmed before the first commission is redirected, because a cheque paid to the wrong entity is awkward to undo.
Does a PREC make sense for you?
The benefit comes from leaving profit in the corporation. If you draw everything you earn to cover a mortgage and living costs, the deferral is small and the extra T2, bookkeeping and year-end statements cost more than they save. If you earn well above what you spend, the gap stays in the company at a lower rate until you need it. The answer turns on how much you draw, not what you gross.
Run your real numbers through the incorporation calculator and the salary-versus-dividends calculator before you decide. Then decide the draw pattern at the start of each year. Money taken from the PREC without being declared as salary or dividends becomes a shareholder loan. If it is not repaid within one year after the corporation’s year-end, it is generally taxed as your income. The shareholder loans guide covers the trap.
HST on commissions
Real estate commission is a taxable supply, so a registered agent charges 13% HST on it. Registration is mandatory once taxable sales pass $30,000 in four consecutive calendar quarters. Most full-time Toronto agents cross that early. If you incorporate, the PREC needs its own HST registration, separate from the one you held personally. Commission paid to the old number after the switch is a common first-year error.
Registration also lets you recover HST on staging, photography, advertising and vehicle costs through input tax credits. Most agents with annual revenue of $1.5 million or less file once a year. That makes it easy to spend the HST held in the account. Moving each commission’s HST to a separate account the day it lands prevents a large April bill. See GST/HST filing in Toronto.
Car and home-office claims
Most Toronto agents drive between listings, showings and the brokerage across the GTA. The vehicle claim is based on the business share of kilometres, and a log is what proves that share. A log kept for the whole year, or for a representative period that matches the pattern, holds up. A percentage estimated at filing time does not. Use the mileage and vehicle log from the first week.
A home office is claimable where it is your principal place of business, or used regularly and exclusively to meet clients. A desk available at the brokerage weakens the claim but does not end it; what counts is where the work actually happens. Inside a PREC, both claims work differently. The corporation reimburses you or owns the car, and a company-owned car can create a taxable benefit.
Commission timing and instalments
Commission arrives on closing dates, not a payroll calendar. A spring market can deliver most of a year’s income in a few months, and the gross deposit is before splits, desk fees and marketing. Personal instalments are required when net tax owing exceeds $3,000 in the current year and either of the two previous years. They are due March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. CRA’s reminder is based on history, so a rising year can leave you short even if you pay it exactly. Setting aside a fixed share of each commission is the discipline that keeps April calm. The tax instalment calculator shows the schedule.
What EverStone handles for you
One CPA, one fixed fee agreed up front:
- PREC T2 return and year-end financial statements
- Personal T1 coordinated with the corporate return
- HST registration and filings for you or your PREC
- Vehicle, home-office and marketing claims supported properly
- Instalments planned against real closing dates
- Salary and dividend mix reviewed each year
Fixed fees, fully online
EverStone is an Abbotsford CPA firm serving Toronto realtors entirely online: video calls, a secure upload link and e-signature. A self-employed T1 with schedules is commonly $250–$450; a PREC with bookkeeping and a T2 is quoted after a free consultation. If you only need a decision made, a 45-minute Advice Call is a flat $200 + GST. See what it costs.
Prepared and reviewed by a Chartered Professional Accountant at EverStone CPA, an Abbotsford CPA firm working with small businesses and incorporated owners across the Fraser Valley and Canada. Updated September 2026. About the firm · Book a free consult
What a Toronto realtor has to get right
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Commission income | Taxed on the gross before splits and fees come out |
| Personal real estate corporation | Permitted in Ontario since 2020; changes which return the income lands on |
| HST on commissions | Taxable once registered; a PREC needs its own number |
| Vehicle and home office | Claims rest on a log and on where the work really happens |
| Sales tax where you operate | 13% HST, a single registration and a single return |
Source: Real estate professional accounting. General information, not advice.
Other services for Toronto businesses: fractional CFO work and year-end statements.
Toronto accounting for realtors and personal real estate corporations FAQ
Can Ontario realtors incorporate?+
Is a PREC worth it if I spend most of what I earn?+
Do I need a new HST number when I incorporate?+
How much of my car can I claim?+
Why was my April tax bill so large?+
Do you work with realtors outside Toronto?+
Do you work with businesses outside Toronto itself?+
Related services and local guides
Nearby cities, the rest of what we do for Toronto businesses, and the reference pages behind this one.
Fees are fixed and agreed in writing before the work starts; the published fee page shows the starting points.
Selling real estate in Toronto?
One CPA for your corporate tax, books and planning. Fixed fee, fully online. Book a free consult.
Remote accounting for realtors from Abbotsford
EverStone is a sole practitioner CPA firm based in Abbotsford, serving Toronto owners entirely online. There is no Toronto office and no local staff. Meetings are held by video or phone, documents come in through a secure upload link and are signed by e-signature, and no visit is required at any point. Commission statements, the PREC decision and your expense records are handled together, because in practice they are one decision.
Talk to a CPA about this
One Chartered Professional Accountant, start to finish. Fixed fees, quoted in writing before any work begins, and no obligation from a first conversation.
